Winnipeg Blue Bombers get gobbled up in Thanksgiving game against Elks (& eight other thoughts)

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Winnipeg Blue Bombers get gobbled up in Thanksgiving game against Elks (& eight other thoughts)

Photo: Edmonton Elks

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers lost to the Edmonton Elks by a score of 25-20 in front of a relatively small crowd at Commonwealth Stadium on Saturday night. Below are my thoughts on the game.

Bad Zach

Zach Collaros had a poor performance in Edmonton, finishing the game 22-of-34 for 202 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions — a stat line that flattered him, to be frank.

The native of Steubenville, Ohio was fine for most of the first half until disaster struck when he spotted Nic Demski behind coverage. Collaros tried to unleash a deep shot but didn’t step into the pass, resulting in a badly under-thrown ball that was easily intercepted by JJ Ross. The pass traveled 42 yards through the air — in order to hit Demski in stride, it would have needed to travel closer to 50.

The 37-year-old threw another interception in the fourth quarter when he tried to force a throw into Jerreth Sterns in triple coverage. Kenneth Logan Jr. made the pick and returned it deep into Winnipeg territory, though much of his progress was wiped out due to an unnecessary roughness penalty that occurred away from the play.

Looking at the replay, Dillon Mitchell was wide open in the middle of the field and may have been able to pick up a first down after the catch. Collaros and Mitchell connected for their first touchdown last week, leading to speculation that the veteran receiver was set for a late-season breakout. Instead, it seems increasingly clear that Collaros doesn’t trust Mitchell as he was targeted only once on Saturday, which seems wild given that Nic Demski missed half the game due to injury (more on that in a moment).

The touchdown pass Collaros recorded (more on that in a moment, too) was poorly thrown and he could have easily been picked off twice more as Brock Mogensen and Kordell Jackson were unable to corral what ended up being knockdowns. If the two defenders had better hands and Ontaria Wilson didn’t make the catch of the century, Collaros could easily have finished this game with zero touchdowns and four interceptions.

In what was arguably a must-win game, that’s simply unacceptable from the player who is supposedly the best on the team.

The best deep shot Collaros threw all day was the one he put up for a streaking Brady Oliveira with three minutes left in the fourth quarter, though Chelen Garnes made a nice play to tip it at the last moment. Almost all of the other deep passes Collaros threw were under or over-thrown, including a bizarre bomb he chucked up for Jerreth Sterns on third-and-four with one minute left.

The Elks sent a lot of pressure after Collaros and he handled most of it well, especially in the first half. The veteran quarterback has often fled the pocket when pressured this year, though he hasn’t always been able to keep his eyes downfield and deliver strikes to his receivers, often running out of bounds or being forced to slide to avoid a hit.

On Saturday, he did a nice of job finding targets while avoiding pressure and delivering accurate throws on the run. He just wasn’t accurate on anything over 15 yards, it seemed.

Winnipeg’s quarterbacks have now thrown a league-worst 26 interceptions on the year, which is a big part of the reason why the team won’t be hosting the West Final for a fifth-straight season — or any home playoff game, likely.

Collaros, who leads the CFL in interception percentage (min. 150 attempts), didn’t turn the ball over in Winnipeg’s recent win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, which was a big part of the reason why it was a blowout victory. If he wants to get back to the Grey Cup for a sixth-straight season, Collaros will have to do a much better job of protecting the football.

Explosive run

Winnipeg’s defence held Edmonton running back Justin Rankin mostly in check before getting gashed badly early in the third quarter. On third-and-two, Rankin took a handoff out of pistol formation and bounced the carry outside. Jaiden Woodbey and Redha Kramdi were in the area but neither set the edge, allowing Rankin to run free.

Deatrick Nichols couldn’t catch Rankin, Cam Allen took a questionable angle from his safety spot, and Dexter Lawson Jr. fell when the ball-carrier cut back against the grain. 62 yards later, Rankin was in the end zone for a touchdown that delighted the home crowd.

The Blue Bombers had a solid night on defence, allowing 18 points and 307 yards of net offence, but this was the one play they couldn’t afford to give up. It’s one thing to allow a first down on third-and-two, but giving up a 62-yard touchdown is quite another.

Play of the year

Ontaria Wilson made arguably the play of the year in the CFL on his 35-yard touchdown catch near the midway point of the fourth quarter.

The second-year receiver was behind Edmonton defenders Chelen Garnes and Tyrell Ford, the latter of whom was named All-CFL with Winnipeg last season, when Collaros delivered one of many under-thrown deep shots. Wilson was forced to work back to the ball, which hit Garnes in the chest before being popped into the air by Ford (unintentionally, it seemed).

Wilson dove over Garnes, who was splayed in the end zone, and stretched out his right arm to tip the ball — not once, but twice — before snagging it as a third defender, Kordell Jackson, arrived to try and pry it loose.

The score went a long way to ensuring the Blue Bombers didn’t lose by more than 13 points, which would have resulted in them losing the season series to Edmonton, while giving Winnipeg a chance to win on their next drive.

Chaos

You have to be good to be lucky and lucky to be good and that’s exactly what the Edmonton Elks were late in the third quarter when defensive back Kordell Jackson scored a 47-yard touchdown off a fumble recovery.

Veteran special teamer Nick Hallett forced Edmonton returner Javon Leake to fumble near midfield and close to a half-dozen players had a chance to recover the loose ball, which ricocheted along the turf like a lemon-shaped pinball.

The football finally settled at the feet of Jackson, who picked it up and outran a diving Winnipeg long snapper Ian Leroux for the score.

It was the type of chaotic play that you just can’t account for when trying to predict the outcome of a football game. If the Blue Bombers recover, they have the ball near midfield and all the momentum in a one-score game. If the Elks recover but don’t manage a return, they’ve still got close to 50 yards to go for a touchdown.

Instead, Edmonton scored instantly and all the air came out of Winnipeg’s sails. The Blue Bombers didn’t play well enough to win regardless, but this was the type of play that’s impossible to prevent or predict. It was as much luck as anything.

1k/1k

Two of Winnipeg’s biggest stars hit key milestones on Saturday as Brady Oliveira eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards and Nic Demski eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards. Oliveira has now reached the milestone for four straight seasons, while Demski has done so for a third.

Having two Canadians reach the 1,000-yard threshold on the same team is rare in the CFL, though it’s become an annual occurrence in Winnipeg. What’s even cooler is that both players are playing for their hometown team.

Oliveira finished the game with 12 carries for 117 yards and seven catches for 30 yards, while Demski recorded one catch before leaving the game just before halftime after pulling up lame — clutching his right knee — and being ruled out. The veteran receiver would have scored a touchdown near the midway point of the first quarter, though he was unable to squeeze a deep throw in the end zone.

As an aside, congratulations to Demski and his partner, Vanessa, on welcoming their second child on Wednesday. Cade may only weight eight pounds right now but I’m sure the Blue Bombers are already considering him for their first-round draft pick in 2047.

Viva la Vaval

Trey Vaval picked a good time to record another big play in the return game, bringing a 43-yard missed field goal from Vincent Blanchard back 58 to kick-start Winnipeg’s first scoring drive of the game. He finished the matchup with three punt returns for 23 yards, three kickoff returns for 65 yards, and one missed field goal return for 58 yards.

Though it didn’t look like much on the box score, Vaval’s 12-yard punt return midway through the fourth quarter was brilliant. Jake Julien booted the ball short and Vaval sprinted to field it perfectly on the run, drawing a 15-yard penalty for no yards. If the native of Blue Springs, Mo. had let the ball bounce, it could easily have rolled deep into Winnipeg territory and saddled the team with awful field position.

Vaval fumbled shortly before halftime while fighting for extra yardage, though the turnover was negated by a no-yards penalty. He was also shaken up on a kickoff return early in the third quarter, though he was able to reenter the game in time for his next return. Dillon Mitchell took over the return duties late in the game, however, so it appears Vaval is dealing with an injury after all.

The 25-year-old is not only a serious candidate to win Most Outstanding Special Teams Player but was also one of 112 players deemed officially eligible for Most Outstanding Rookie this year. He’s a shoo-in to earn the nomination at the team level, though he’ll face some stiff competition from the rest of the West Division beyond that.

My list of other players who could realistically win the award this year includes Montreal running back Travis Theis, Calgary receiver Damien Alford, Calgary offensive lineman Christopher Fortin, Hamilton defensive lineman Philip Ossai, Toronto linebacker Aaron Casey, Hamilton linebackers Kyler Fisher and Devin Veresuk, Calgary defensive back Sheldon Arnold II, B.C. defensive back Robert Carter Jr., Edmonton defensive back Kenny Logan Jr., Toronto defensive back Derek Slywka, Calgary punter Mark Vassett.

Don’t talk about playoffs!

The Blue Bombers had a chance to clinch a playoff spot in Edmonton but squandered it with Saturday’s loss. Though the club deserves blame for the defeat — particularly on the offensive side of the ball — they still have a strong chance of making the playoffs.

Winnipeg has won the season series against the Elks thanks to the head-to-head point spread, which means the Blue Bombers will clinch a spot in the postseason with their next win or Edmonton’s next loss, barring a three-way tie between Winnipeg, Edmonton and Calgary.

Unless the Stampeders lose their last two games, the Elks can only finish ahead of the Blue Bombers if they have more wins come the end of the season, which is unlikely as they now sit one win back with only two weeks left in the regular season.

The Blue Bombers will host Saskatchewan and Montreal at Princess Auto Stadium over the next two weeks. The Roughriders will have nothing to play for next week, having already clinched first place in the West Division, while the Alouettes will likely have nothing to play for come the following week as Hamilton can clinch first place in the East Division with a win over Ottawa the day between Montreal visits Winnipeg.

As for the Elks, they play the B.C. Lions next week — a team still looking to clinch a home playoff game — before finishing the regular season against Calgary in Week 21. Is it impossible for Edmonton to leapfrog Winnipeg? Absolutely not. However, it remains highly unlikely looking at the schedule.

In the event of a three-way tie between Winnipeg, Edmonton, and Calgary, the tiebreaker will be the team’s records against one another. If this comes to pass, the Blue Bombers will be on the outside looking in thanks to their 0-3 head-to-head record with the Stampeders.

Editor’s note: this section of the article has been updated.

Not panicking

Defensive coordinator Jordan Younger sent a rare blitz on Edmonton’s second offensive play of the game, rushing a group of eight defenders that included safety Cam Allen. Cody Fajardo unleashed a 35-yard shot to O.J. Hiliare, which ended up falling incomplete.

Dexter Lawson Jr. was in coverage and seemed to panic when the ball arrived. He never turned to locate the pass and pushed his hands into Hiliare’s chest, which arguably should have drawn a flag for pass interference. If it hadn’t been so early in the game, I’d imagine that Edmonton would have challenged.

In Winnipeg’s blowout win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats two weeks ago, Houston was in coverage on Kenny Lawler and defended a deep shot much differently. He turned his head, located the ball, waited for it to arrive, then raked his hands through Lawler’s to ensure he couldn’t complete the catch. It was a brilliant play with head coach Mike O’Shea praising Houston’s technique postgame, complimenting the defender’s patience.

It remains to be seen if Lawson Jr. will remain in the starting lineup once Houston and Jamal Parker, who returned to action this week after recovering from a leg injury, are both available. With that said, he’ll have to get better at defending the deep ball if he’s going to have a long career in the CFL.

Next up

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers (8-8) will host the Saskatchewan Roughriders (12-4) on Friday, October 17 with kickoff slated for 8:00 p.m. EDT. The Roughriders clinched first place in the West Division when they defeated the Toronto Argonauts on Friday night, which means they’ll have nothing to play for when they visit Princess Auto Stadium.

Saskatchewan head coach Corey Mace has previously indicated that he would consider resting Trevor Harris if the Roughriders clinched first place before the end of the regular season, which means Jake Maier may get the start in Bomberland. It’s possible that other key players will rest for the Green and White, which would certainly work to Winnipeg’s advantage as they look to clinch a playoff spot.

The prairie rivals met twice earlier this season with Saskatchewan sweeping the annual home-and-home. The Roughriders won the Labour Day Classic by a score of 34-30, then defeated the Blue Bombers in the Banjo Bowl by a score of 21-13 after knocking Zach Collaros from the game with an illegal helmet-to-helmet hit.

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